The Yohji Yamamoto Problem
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 6 фев 2025
- Discussing Yohji Yamamoto runway shows and the dilemma of trying to interpret them.
If you love the channel, support on Patreon: / blissfoster
Follow me on IG: / blissfoster
Follow me on Twitter: / blissfoster
Yohji said that when he was a teenager he would help his mother in her store (she was a seamtress). The custumers were always asking for flattering clothes, to please the men who were paying for such garments. And Yohji would mentally call them bitches. He wanted to make clothes that were the opposite of "bitch clothing", he wanted to dress an independent and strong woman. So I guess that's the root of his work? A subversive femininity, a blatant rejection of traditional gender roles. To me, he creates meaning by showcasing an angry, powerful and witchy femininity. It's glorious and it makes me feel seen and validated. Stereotipical femininty is delicate, submissive, and eager to please men. As a woman in this world, I've often felt pressured to have those characteristics, but it never felt natural. And because I'm not what I'm expected to be, I often feel inadequate. But Yohji gets me. And he celebrates my kind of womanhood.
I also believe he doesn't want to be understood as a designer. His work is like abstract art, the beholder is supposed to project meaning onto it. He's not saying much, because he's holding up a mirror.
but he also said in an interview, that he wouldn't even call himself an artist. He thinks of himself as "just" a dressmaker. So maybe the opposite is the case. Maybe the people are digging too deep and cannot accept simplicity. Maybe the independent woman was everything he ever wanted to portrait and since then he just played around with shape and textures etc. It would not make his work any less interesting or important :)
he is driven by emotions. So by trying to press him into western fashion world, where everything has to be very clever and intellectual and the designers somehow need to justify there work by quoting the past so its more intelligent, u don't come near the idea of his work ... I think. Actually I don't have a clue but that's what I think
@@richierich9026 but by saying he is just a dressmaker, he makes these kind of garments more normal, supports the not "bitch" like look and tries to bring this style to the same level as "normal" dresses by "normal" dressmakers.
Yeah I have always had a crush on the Wicked Witch from Oz. I interpret Ma as the art of careful selection and to understand perfection having an element of elegant simplicity.
this reply is awesome. like...im saving this
clothes can easily become interesting if they’re coded and inscribed with literal meanings, if they’re pointing in the direction of a movie, or a song, or a text, then they give off an importance of some kind, they inspire sentimentality, and they form connections with the wearer. this can be beautiful- raf and jun takahashi were two of the first designers i came to love, and they know this on a very deep level. the problem is that this sort of themed approach is somehow the norm now, every runway is expected to be codified with all of these meanings. but why? what is the purpose of doing this when we’re discussing a collection of clothes? and really, how does this communicate when the clothes are taken out of the runway and you’re wearing a sweater while you’re walking the street. i have a lot of undercover pieces from collections i’m very attached to, but i’ve noticed that the meaning of these clothes is eventually diffused and rubbed away by my own experience with the object. a garment has a certain philosophical weight, yes, but this weight doesn’t always have to point to some other place. yohji’s clothes, to me, strive for a certain interiority and are about the garment itself and its wearer
sorry i got distracted at the end of this and didn't really wrap up my thoughts... don't know how to end this. nick scavo wrote a brilliant piece about experimental music called "against worldbuilding" that might also be helpful
Excellent & interesting interpretation of fashion codes 👍⭐
This is 100% what Yohji is about for me and you only need to own 1 item of his to get it. The interiority of the garment (the heft of the fabric used, little unseen details and the thoughtfulness that goes into them) and how that makes the wearer feel. Yohji is all about that emotion.
That’s a brilliant angle. It makes me think a shirt with a logo for a tv show or movie has a temporality to it, a space and a time. But just “a shirt” is simply a spatial thing, it lacks a solid anchor in time. It could have buttons or a collar or a graphic..etc. I think this is what alot of the anti-fashion artists are trying/successfully enacting. To point to the concept: “a garment that emphasizes a human’s torso”, and then they make whatever their vision of that is at the time. Plus like being nostalgic visionaries.
I’ve got a background in literature as well, and did work on the ineffable during my degree. After my degree, I went to Japan to find Yohji’s clothing, and honestly, it changed my life. It changed my relationship to my body, and to fashion broadly. I brought a lot of his clothing home, and over the last few years, I’ve been slowly revamping my wardrobe, to the point where most of my wardrobe is used Yohji menswear from past seasons. What I’ve found is that the abstract, aesthetic, or philosophical positions that people take when they write about Yohji, the vague mystery of it all, remained intact even when I started wearing it head to toe.
As you said in your video, there are tools and perspectives by which we are taught to analyze literature, fashion, art, or whatever that thing may be. I think to some extent, these tools and these perspectives are themselves the problem. Scrutiny and wanting a frame or a perspective to analyze Yohji’s work look-by-look as an image or as a runway video will never capture the emotion of living out your daily life in the clothing. Someone like Raf semiotically gestures to his reference points in a collection, but they’re often just that, reference points. Some vibrant and personal theatrical collage, the components of which are pieces of larger artworks and aesthetic movements. Raf leads you to other art. Yohji’s work has led me to my own body. My own agency and self-acceptance. My own life. Ma. The space between things. Maybe it’s not about some juxtaposed fabrication or construction, or even the air around your body. Maybe it’s space that flows between you and your environment. Your life and another’s. All of it, contiguous. Colliding.
Wow, I’m shook, these are such great thoughts. Thank you for taking the time to articulate this for everyone. Absolutely beautiful
@@BlissFoster Your reply made my day! I just found your channel today. It's amazing seeing more engaged, researched runway fashion content that's still accessible. I'll be exploring your channel this weekend!
What an incredible comment
The parameters thought in western universities about how to make sense of things they do not take into consideration eastern culture … that’s why many things are still not understood of the depth and complexity of Asian culture , aesthetic and all the rest
beautifully articulated, thank u for this. really helps me think about my own self understanding as it manifests in my wardrobe
I remember Narciso Rodriguez talking about how he hated the idea of designers having to spin some kind of story with their collections. When I was younger, I wanted a cohesive narrative framework to explain the meaning of things, but now that I’m older, I find it off-putting, especially regarding fashion. After hearing so many designers speak of making clothes for “strong” women (who would ever say they design for “weak” women?), I appreciate designers who don’t feel the need to explain their work. Increasingly, it seems that designers shoehorn their work to fit a pre-conceived marketing mandate instead of being led by their own vision. When I see Yohji’s work, I think of absolutism, someone who will never yield their principles and chooses to stay true to a singular vision.
Over and over again, I’ve read of people coming to wear to Yohji when they’ve figured out who they are and what really matters in their lives. Yohji becomes their uniform after they discard what no longer serves them. These clothes carry you into old age. For a lot of fashion people, the notion of having a clearly defined mode of dressing is limiting, even depressing. People like infinite options and the possibility of change. When you commit to Yohji (and Issey), you’re announcing that certain parts of you are fixed and you’ve closed some doors for good. Personally, I find that liberating. It’s the confidence and security that come with aging. I know what I like; I don’t want to chase trends.
Two of my favorite pieces in my closet are a black cotton Yohji suspender dress with a full skirt and a wool Yohji skirt with several straps that criss-cross in the back. They’re timeless. I love their quiet drama. When I wear them, I feel most like myself. That’s what wearing Yohji gives you.
this is beautifully put
I would like to thank you for your passion. I am happy I found you. I am 65 years old who grew up in japan and last over 30 years has lived in NYC. I have lived in many pieces of Yohji and your grandma Rei. I even take seam off and make it my own as I age. because some of them are from early 80’s rei’s one goes late 70’s. I am so happy being informed about the designer I would have never known in depth. really grateful! “Ma” is the air between skin and garment. Yohji enjoy the hidden skin very sexy. the concept of kimono is inevitably in his work. He values silhouette immensely. I remember he constantly talked about it as dress maker in the 80’s. I hope this info helps you a bit.
Wow thank you so much for the kind words and information. I’ve been looking for an answer about ma for a long time. Very helpful, thank you again 💫💫
yohji’s work is all about his emotions. he’s mad and tired from the world. thats his inspiration.
True, but I think he's also deeply inspired by the world and life, and the reason he's mad at the state of the world is because beautiful things are dying. It's like he's fighting a war with his art for the preservation of the human spirit.
He said he is dress maker, he make Clothese for woman that do not want try to please people. Therefor he do not need school explain concept design .
I'm a simple man
linen, air, wrapping my soul
emptiness fills space
There’s a book titled In Praise of Shadows by Junichiro Tanizaki, the book simply talks about the concept of shadow and blank space in Japanese designs, I think it ties in a lot with Yoji Yamamoto’s work. This is the second time I’ve watched this one, and in between is where I read the book, I feel like it really helped me to understand the basis of Japanese design in general. Also thank you for these videos, truly inspirational and great content to learn from.
The gallery at the end of the video clarifies things immensely. It is the morphology of simultaneously undoing and becoming. Templates in transition. Half states with infinite outcomes.
I wonder if Yohji makes art simply differently from the way many other fashion designers do. When I was in art school the biggest difference between us illustrators and the painters was that illustrators made art for a purpose, with a message that needed to get across. The painters channeled their feelings and often didn't have a message beyond "this is what I needed to make at the time." Do you think it's possible that Raf, Michele, etc. are illustrators and Yohji is a painter? He is making clothes based on instinct and with less specific meaning, and trying to look piece-by-piece at his work and see what it's trying to say would be a misstep?
boom!
Read In Praise of Shadows by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki, was probably the most helpful text for me studying architecture in deconstructing the need to rationalise things that can simply just be.
You could say yohji’s work is about wearing shadow or becoming the dark, and inhabiting the realm between light and dark, embracing the mystery of that, there’s little to rationalise about mystery
Bliss chill. You don't need to intellectualize everything in fashion. Fashion is not a Wikipedia page or a dictionary which needs to be explained by referential points like a dot to dot. Some times it can just be about a visceral, raw feeling like when you see a Mark Rothko painting. It can just be a sensory, emotional experience.
Yohji is a real fashion designer. He does not need to artificially dress up his designs with needless explanations *cough Raf*, explanatory prints *cough Raf again*, the gimmick of metaphor *cough Demna* or easy zeitgeist references *cough Demna again*. Yohji's work is pure. It's an exploration of cut, line, form, atmosphere, sexuality and emotion directly as it translates on the female (and male) body.
His works are timeless, without being able to easily time stamp, a piece from the 80s, from the 90s, 200s etc is as relevant now as they where when they where first shown on the runway. He has found a way to manipulate time to his own free will. Just think about the lifecycle of a trend, Yohji sidesteps this notion entirely. That is true mastery of an industry which is so enslaved by the notion of time and season..
His garments are so expertly made that they are already styled right there on the hanger, before even being put on. they bring the style and transform whomever wears them, sucking the wearer into the world of Yohji. The garments have the power to emit style to the wearer, just y putting them on.
If you see his work up close it is easy to realize he is the undisputed master of draping. There is nothing he cant do in terms of cutting. No other designer has really reached the level of cutting of Yohji.
His version of beauty is more about what is unseen, what is implied in a silhouette. There is a hidden sexuality and a sense of rebellion in the attitude of the garments, to not play the same game every other designer is. An easy metaphor might be: His clothing is to fashion what jazz is to classical music.
He is a designer who pulls the vague, blurry shadows of "style and attitude" out of the ether and translates it into physical wearable looks.
beautifully put my friend
So here is something that I wanna say about Ma. So in the Easter type of garment making (especially China and Japan) the garments need to have a degree of flowiness, and much of the aesthetics reflects on this Flowiness. And to achieve this, there needs to be space between the fabric and the wearer’s body. And thus Ma defines this space. In the Chinese fashion community, this form of beauty achieved through leaving space between the body and the fabric is called “kong ling gan” （three dimensional yet infinite). That aside I think much of what made yohjis garment cool comes from this own ideology of men and women. In this book my dear bomb, he talked extensively about his subjective take on the men and the women. And through that, a lot of menswear projected this sense of comic-like nature when elements of military-wear, workwear and graphics are almost bluntly pieced together. This not only goes inline with his notion that there will always be a part of men that is childish, but also created a kind of unbalance and imperfection that stands out amongst other garments.
I agree. I think the Ma is more present in the space and relationship between body and cloth. Issey Miyake has also cited this as an important concept in his work.
Excellent info A++
Can you provide the sources for the concept of Kong Ling Gan please?
It’s too personal for him to express. He’s in his 70’s and an old school Japanese man. His father was killed in WWII and I’m sure his resentment has never been resolved internally. Or maybe it’s uncomfortable for him to be vulnerable.
You will never find what you’re looking for Bliss because man like Yohji do not exist anymore, he’s lived too long. You’re generation loves to talk, all about the desire of being heard all the time. You find value in that and I’m sure Yohji doesn’t.
Just enjoy the masterful tailoring, drape and complex patterns of his clothes.
Thank you for this comment 🙏🏻
I can agree with you - I myself am too fond of “digging for deep meaning”. Maybe that’s why Yohji’s works are incredibly relaxing to me! On the contrary, another talented designer, Iris Van Herpen’s work hypnotize me into existential fear 🙈
@@RevealTheStyle thank you for your response Marina Marina 😃😃😃
Agree bro
Bliss, in Wim Wender's film Notebook on Cities and Clothes, Yohji mentions that clothing is about thinking about people, how they live. He often starts with the fabric, material, touch. It's a wonderful film. The journey to understanding Yohji really is a slow process. Rather than unpicking a look, look at where he has been, his experiences, the people he has met and imagine having an ongoing conversation with him. I have loved and studied Yohji Yamamoto for years, through the ups and downs of his work. Sometimes you can only understand a piece of his clothing when you touch the clothes and/or wear them on your body. If you can visit a YY shop, then do. It might not help you make a YY catwalk video analysis but it will certainly give you a different way into understanding the clothes.
The lack of show notes isn't there to taunt you, or to make it harder for you to understand. The lack of art and things around his shows intended to sway how you are feeling, intended to show the message, tells you that the point is not to show you a philosophical message. Yohji Yamamoto is telling you "why don't we just look at the clothing, it has just become another painting, another sculpture, meant to capture the cultural zeitgeist, we have forgotten about beautiful clothing. we have forgotten about the beauty of seeing clothing on its own, not muddied up with ideas, just beauty.'' It almost feels like looking at a garment on a rack, looking at the wonderful details of it. it's no wonder Yohjis stuff is so popular in the fashion community, it's no wonder that reporters can only say "wow that's beautiful" or "look at the fabrication and skill on that outfit" no wonder he says it has nothing to do with japanese culture, its because its not the point of the clothes. The ma is the respect of fashion itself, the child bowing represents the fact that the kid is putting so much work in the spacing of his bow, the elder sees the respect. they don't deconstruct it, they see the respect of the child and take it as is. yohji is doing that. you don't need to deconstruct the work behind the clothing, that's not the point of ma. yohji deconstructs it for you, you have to look at it and appreciate it, you are forced to the fluorescent lights beaming down the concrete floors. none of it is for the art, its meant to point your focus towards the clothing, towards the ma. This is why you are frustrated, its not because you are dumb, its not because you are not analyzing it properly its because you are analyzing it. Its the most yohji thing to do ever, the most artistic thing to do is to do nothing, kid super talking about being the first person to do paintings on the runway, yohji yamototo doing the most artistic thing, the most creative, doing absolutely nothing but creating clothes. No pretty sets or flowers or lights just clothing, just ma.
I'm not from japan, but i think china and japan share a lot of same philosophical ideas. think of 間 in the context of videomaking, the frames or individual shots themselves don't mean a lot, it's the transition that puts meaning on them, the space in between. our brains automatically form a narrative between two shots, it's quite a magical thing
I am pretty new to liking the fashion industry, most of what I've learned is actually from your videos, but I grew up with a Japanese mom and with Japanese culture, So I think I have a "unique" interpretation on his meaning for his fashion. Calligraphy is a large part of Japanese culture as it was the main means of writing in the past and now has been immortalized as a form of art in Japan. In Japanese each stroke of the Japanese kanji has a precise shape, but each artist has their own style to writing those words using black ink (sumi). There are some who will follow the stroke with their ink very delicately and make the words look regal or divine while some use the biggest brush they can find with as much sumi to make a rhapsody of emotion with the kanji. This is where I tie it in with Yamamoto Yohji. I believe that his pieces are each a set of kanji for him to write, not literally since we don't see any obvious references to the symbols, but each look is a set of characters that he has to write as a calligrapher. There are guidelines that he follows because if the artist strays too far from what the core of the character looks like we lose the meaning of the character but just like a calligrapher he uses his "ink" in a unique way to express his varied emotions. Personally, when I look at his works some parts of his looks are very delicate and controlled but will lead into an ambition asymmetrical cut.
In the end this is all my opinion. It's what I got out of his work as an artist and a designer. I haven't seen anyone else think like this so I just wanted to share my piece. It kinda reminds me how mame kuroguchi likes to implement different forms of traditional japanese art.
Hello Bliss,
nice video and thoughts! I want to write about my opinion and try to answer your question.
I follow Yohji`s work since 2009 and admire most of his clothes.
I saw one documentary from Wim Wenders about Yohji Yamamoto and there is one scene that Yohji prepare for new collection. The documentary title is Notebook on Cities and Clothes.
So he sit and show Wim Wenders about his collection of many paper clipping that Yohji`s collects. So he collects many photographs about uniforms (military, factory worker, office) and also some clothing from the tribes. So he said he got the idea of his works from that old photographs.
I think if you see Yohji`s first collection (the brand name is Y`s) are always have similarity design from 1972-now which refers to uniforms. But the design that he made is an uncommon uniform for women which is asymmetric, masculine, a lot of layer, looks a bit messy (in all of her Femme fashion show) because he has his past experience about women and Japan.
So he said in many interviews that he likes Paris because you can smells cigarettes at the street, see many trash and it is more human than his own hometown which is too clean, too organize. So his works might get the idea from this experience. And his design for Femme mostly a lot of layer, black, masculine because he has an experience working at his mother clothing shop which is located in Kabukicho Shinjuku. This area was an area for host, entertainer, and some women works to please the clients at some bar. So at that time, some clients of his mom were women who order sexy clothes, tight clothes and doll-like clothes to please the clients and the one who pay are the man. So Yohji really hates that situation so he really capture that experience and want to make a clothes who can be like an armor for a women. SO that is why in some of his collections the clothes are mostly have many layers, weird and some people see it unpleasant but it gives the user feel the comfortness.
As an audience for his fashion show, we cant understand this because we only see it. To understand then one time should try his clothes! in the interview of Wim Wenders, there is conversation between them and WIm said :
"My first encounter with Yohji Yamamoto was in the way of experience an identity. I bought a shirt and a jacket. I had a strange sensation wearing them. I felt protected like a knights army and the label said, Yohji Yamamoto. What did Yamamoto know about me and everybody?"
Well, what wim wenders said it is true. I actually admire his clothes and understand it after wearing it. I actually difficult to find clothes which fit me back in my country in Indonesia. I am a female but my body has bigger bones than average female in my country so the clothes mostly did not fit me and also some part of my body are so asymmetric so its hard to find the good one. When I try Yohji clothes, It is really fit and and it works like magic. haha
I learn japanese and live in japan for about 4 years, but Im not an expert but maybe I will write my opinion a bit about ma :)
About ma (間) in japanese kanji it is actually consist of 2 kanji which is 門 (mon meaning gate) and 日 ( mean sun). So it can be translated to interval, pause in a time, emptiness in space. And seeing the kanji meaning it is also mean a gate that open to light, enabling the growth and permitting freedom. So might be "ma" has connection with Yohji works sincr it is related to permitting freedom.
I hope my explanation is make sense, haha
Fani, this is wonderful. Thank you so much for sharing such nuanced thoughts :)
@@BlissFoster you are welcome :)
Honestly I'm glad to see ads on your channel. Love your content!
Great video! Being in school for fashion right now and coming from a more technical/business side of it... I personally feel that not every designer has specific and clear inspiration for their collections/designs. Yes, very many start with trend boards but sometimes designs just come from the love of draping. Some designers just play with fabric in different ways until they personally love it and then share it with others hoping they love it.
Even the “Father” of couture, Charles Worth, way back in the 1800s just wanted to make beautiful clothes for his wife. It is possible that Yohji just likes making beautiful things and shares them with the world. Maybe he truly doesn’t have a direct inspiration for his collections and he just wants to make the world around him beautiful.
Hey Heidi :) Thanks for sharing your thoughts! I didn’t know you worked in fashion, that’s so cool!
@@BlissFoster Hey! :) I haven’t worked in fashion yet, besides retail many years ago, but I’m finishing my Apparel/Textile degree that is more focused on the business/merchandising/production side of fashion than creative/actual concept creating. I can’t wait to actually work in the industry though!
I have been enjoying your videos about the men’s wear side of fashion as I usually focus on women’s wear.
I hope you are doing well :)
Interesting fashion school point of view 👍
Maybe the meaning is the constant search for meaning, which symbolizes life - the opposite of just existing. Maybe he is afraid to be set into a certain and obvious meaning hidden behind a thin layer that everyone can see through, because finding the treasure is not the goal of life, it's the way to it
Ma, simply put, is the space in between structure. When creating something, one does not just create that thing, but also the space which that thing holds. For designers such as Yohji and Miyake, for example, this space seems to be of utmost importance. The western perspective is rooted in the idea that human beings can control nature, and shape it into any form conceivable, (haute couture, for example.) The traditional Japanese perspective is of a different nature, clearly opposed to the western way of framing the body in a static bodily posture.
Take the kimono. Under the kimono, in this space in-between, the Japanese woman’s body is in a dark space of ambiguity, and her bodily features remain hidden. Only through movement might one be able to create an image of her body, though this image will also be ambiguous.
Furthermore, the kimono serves as a canvas for artists to draw upon. The availability of expensive materials, such as silk, and the elaborate use of techniques, such as tie-dye and embroidery, resulted in the kimono becoming a means of personal display. And it still is.
Yohji Yamamoto takes elements from both eastern and western cultures and juxtaposes them in various ways, often with a healthy dose of humor. Still, his way of sewing I would argue is rooted in his Japanese sensibilities. The way he folds cloth and the way his clothes fold themselves around the body is based on an appreciation for the natural qualities of the fabric (nature), the draping of the kimono, and the space that occurs in-between.
In this sense, Ma has to do with both what can be seen and what cannot be seen. A hole in a dress does not necessarily reveal a woman’s body as a tangible object, but it can hint at it. A woman’s body is not rendered as a static object but as a moving one.
Of course, there are endless topics one can discuss when it comes to Yohji.
Excellent info A++ 👍
I think this might be one of the best comments on this video. I can't believe it only has 9 "likes" your point about the kimono I think articulates beautifully the concept of a space inbetween which holds the thing created
The quiet time was perfect, great idea that advocates for deeper thinking
I don’t feel like it was done for deeper thinking. More like for contemplating meditatively.
the yholi yamamato problem: more like bliss has an educational existential crisis on camera
Correct 😭
Part of the problem you were having in being able to talk about what Yohji does, I believe is in the Western insistence that art and craft need to be two separate things. The fact that Yohji is as masterful a tailor as the best of the Savile Row or Milan guys does not require symbolism to create its magic. I believe Yohji's scholarly referencing of Japanese and European cultural traditional forms and taking them to their artistic extremes is ultimately more sustaining and satisfying than most uses of the fine art critical analysis that people view the runway through.
yes! I believe his work is more about method/methodology of local traditional forms.
I spoke to my sister who has studied both western art history and Japanese Dance/ Movement-based theatre in Kyoto. My interpretation Yohji has always been more about the silhouette in space and she had a few things to say about the concept of 'Ma' in relation to this:
Japanese dance is a reflection of Japanese culture in many ways so I can talk about what I know in that. It works with finding freedom in structure and discipline. When you move through the space you move the entire space with you. You are a continuation of it (this is the basics of the Japanese walk) there is an oppositional pull up down, side to side, front and back. In Eastern customs there is a connection with the earth and you draw energy up through the center of the earth through the feet up the body. For me his work is sculptural and the modules are carrying the outfits through space with their understated but controlled walk.
The MA (could) be the energy of the pice in connection with the space not necessarily the seeing it as the absence of fabric. It's a very sensitive concept even I am not sure how to describe it. The timing of dancing to Japanese music is so nuanced. In a simple action a million things are at play. The masters find harmony in every moment and give that to the audience
Oh also you could consider the concept of Jo ha kyu present in the garment wait I'll find what I wrote about that: "Jo-Ha-Kyu is the rhythmic paradigm of the universe, a structure linked to tempo of which describes all action (Zeami and Wilson, 2006). As a rule, Jo marks a clear beginning and is a predatory action. Ha the destruction of an existing state and Kyu is a temporal element which draws the disordering of ha to a climax and swift conclusion. (Komparu, 1983) "
While I think their is some truth to this that Yohji more signature style (draping black garments) and collections are a bit harder to interpret. There are plenty of examples where Yohji breaks out of this signature style that he has been using for the past ten or so years, and makes clear cultural references to tell a story. Spring Summer 2002 is a very clear and famous collection that shows the more playful side of Yohji’s work and is less “mysterious”. Spring Summer 1996 is also another collections that can be easily explored and shows more diversity. Their is a lot more to Yohji then his signature aesthetic as throughout out the 80s 90s and early 00s many of his collections would be much more playful like Rei or Issey was doing at the time.
Your work deserves far more attention.
I love the fact that as I get deeper into the comments, they start long and then get somehow longer.
I think how I conceptualize “Ma” is proportion; not just in space but time. It’s like listening to an amazing musician, watching a great dancer, viewing a beautiful piece of art: it’s not what we see or hear but also what we don’t see or hear. It’s a pulse, a rhythm, frequency. Yohjis work is always amazing because we are seeing something familiar yet foreign, known and unknown. It’s a perspective that is not ours but we see it not just with our eyes but our minds and resonates. It’s truth. It’s beauty. It’s life.
It's almost as if at times he loves creating & deriving inspiration from distorted shadows that he sees of people walking down the street in their regular clothes. Paying attention to the forms they make as the person walks & the shadow moves. Like in cubism, when you draw from multiple angles. There are so many beautiful observations of Japanese design concepts besides Ma, like the other well-known concept of Wabi-Sabi.
In this particular collection you shared, I imagined Yohji smoking a cigarette on a park bench, & gazing in admiration at the character of their shadows. Then thinking of ways to emulate how you would wrap the shadow around them, & if they would stay, or run away from their respective owner.
Yamamoto really does provide one with a rorschach test of fabrics & material.
Although this comment does not have anything to do with "MA" is directed at his way of designing. I read in an old interview about Yohji were he was asked how he designs (directed at his women's line) and his answer or explanation was rather poetic. He feels like, contrary to many other designers at the time (80's & 90's), that he wanted to create a sort of armor/guard for women, he wanted to cover them and give them protection and empowerment. He wanted them to feel secure in his clothes, therefore the big draped silhouettes.
Will try to find the interview.
best
Ale
Sounds like he's the Ingmar Bergman of fashion.
I'm an absolute outsider to fashion but since I've heard Yohji say he also considers himself a fashion outsider, maybe I can offer a perspective? (I know I'm late to the dicussion but anyway...)
I'm fascinated by fashion but the main reference points I have for it are film, philosophy/metaphysics, and parkour/freerunning.
Film-wise, I relate Yohji's work to Bergman's because they both create distinct and deeply felt effects but it's impossible to pinpoint how or why. The languages they use for expression are built from scratch in reference to unconscious, spiritual places. It's pure poetry in that it's expressive power is limitless and proportional to the energy you give to it, but you have to approach it experientially rather than scientifically to get that energy back from it. Andrei Tarkovsky, who was inspired mostly by poetry and heavily influenced by Bergman (and was also a major influence to Bergman), was a master at Ma. For example, on a thematic level in his movie Stalker, you could say the movie is about hope, or God, or the soul. But the way Tarkovsky communicates about these things is by removing them from the world so that their absence is deeply felt and, abstractly, it's as if everything is being pulled into the void left by their absence. Also film-wise, I've noticed that movies from Japan tend to have an internal logic that's not quite like movies from anywhere else, and obviously even if Yohji doesn't reference culture, Yohji himself is a self-reference of Japanese culture.
Metaphysically, you could talk endlessly about what Yohji does with his clothes, but I think some essential principles are flow, weight, potentiality, and centrality. It's essentially all the "elements and principles of art" that introductory art classes teach but without the stupid splitting up into independent categories. If you look at the "hotspots" on Yohji's clothes (not just where the eye naturally looks towards but where you can just feel energy emanating) and then you look at the dynamics between them in space and time as the model moves, you get a picture of the Essence of both the outfit and the human body, which is an intuitive beauty. To relate this to other fields, in car design it's often said that you should be able to draw the distinct shape of a car in just three lines, and in film, David Lynch has a concept called the eye of the duck, which is the central hotspot of an artwork that is essentially its soul.
Lastly, I first got interested in fashion through parkour and freerunning. Freerunning is a beautiful form of art that directly relates the human body and space. All the clothes in freerunning have to be functional, but they are also meant to flow, fly, and cascade through space as beautifully as the athlete (when they're well designed). This consciousness of an external purpose for the clothes to meet is what can make them so beautiful. I think Yohji designs his clothes with a consciousness of the wider world, not for something as specfic as jumping through urban spaces, but more for living a life full of meaning.
That wasn't my most succinct writing ever, but I feel like there's something in there. I'm more in love with fashion tangentially than with fashion itself, so I often feel in over my head with your videos, but I love them and I deeply appreciate the insights you're giving me into the cultural significance of this whole world. Thanks.
I am arriving a bit late to this video and I am not familiar with all of Mr. Yamamoto's collections, but this particular collection made me think of architecture.
These are buildings I see passing by, with their vanishing lines, perspectives, some distorted, gutted, with their structures exposed. This runway show made me think of Tsutomu Nihei's work 'Blame!' where the city, the urban environment, is a character in itself that changes, evolves, and devours the organic. Knowing that Nihei himself was an architect before becoming a manga artist, the connection seems natural. It also seems to me that the post-war ruins in which Yamamoto was born have influenced his creative process, this need to create beauty in ugliness and order in chaos.
As for the concept of 'MA,' I imagine it's difficult for Westerners to truly understand its meaning. Beyond meaning 'the space - or time - between,' I believe it mainly signifies 'the space - or time - that connects.' It is the hyphen of emptiness that harmonizes things. We do not saturate space, we never fill the void, to allow for the circulation of air, light, movement... Some illustrate it with this example: you and I do not exist, only the relationship exists. Or, ikebana is not so much an art of flowers as it is an art of 'air circulation' between spaced flowers.
Note that the Westernized notion of 'MA' that we know today is likely different/biased from its native meaning.
But anyway, I digress! All this to say that this particular collection (and Yamamoto's work in general) makes me think of architecture and interior design.
Love your work and your channel by the way
You are impressive!!! I have massive respect for you and what you are doing!!! Many thanks!!!
Yohji’s fashion resembles that of a fairytale or an alternate dimension of human existence. Look closely and the clothes resemble the wardrobe of an entire civilization. That’s at least what I get from it.
lovely video as always
Thanks homie 😌
I think the Ma could become more evident when you're not looking at the space on the garment itself, but either the space in its environment or the space between two silhouettes as they create a dialogue/interact with each other. I'm not super familiar with Yohji's work, but as you harped on, it seems to me that he is interested with how bodies/silhouettes interact with their surroundings and create a broader picture of space. Especially with fashion, form can be dynamic and the way that one moves can have a huge impact on how space is created around them, and I suppose the asymmetry in Yohji's work might also play into this ever-changing state of space.
I think to look at how the silouhette interact is a very interesting theory. The space on the runway is just so big that models don't bump into each other. I also noticed they glance at each other when they meet on the runway.
@@charlesbrunelle
i watched an earlier season's men's collection and they were intentionally bumping into one another... with a slight agression but no malice... a quick collision then continue on... I think he uses the theatrics of the show to play up a mood that's influenced that collection...
@@c4747j6637 It's a great example of how interaction between models can be used with intent.
Fashion is amazing
Excellent comment A++
Yes! I’m not very familiar with his shows yet, but looking at the pictures given here, after some time I realised that the biggest contrast his clothes have is the contrast between the clothes and the body of a model. We’re typically pay no attention to models that are presenting the clothes, as they’re not the point we watch a fashion show. However, their features and skin tone and bodies are so highlighted by the darkness of materials that you have no choice but to look.
I love A very old man with enormous wings!!! It feels so and ancestral, that you can't really explain the meaning into words, yet it is so powerful and immediate when communicated though the story.
A longer comment, potentially helpful:
I think that it is good to look at things the way you are, but I don’t think you’ll understand the “how” that way. As a literature major myself, symbolism, form, other literary devices can help derive meaning but can be too narrow to ascertain the “how” behind interpretation. I think it’s actually super beneficial to look at the business model behind Yohji Yamamoto to think about his intentions as well (I am lucky to know a family that works for YY INC, so I’m cheating here).
They’ve told me that the company views its client base as people who should buy a complete look and wear it as a uniform. You can see this if you look at the production numbers, the price point, and the accessibility of certain runway styles available to western audiences. Part of this is to limit the availability of clothing on second hand markets. It was viewed that it was devaluing the brand and that people were more or less renting the clothes by buying retail and then selling at a slightly lower price after wearing. The main part, as it relates to Ma, is that each of the full looks is doing what you are saying, creating space between the fabric and the body. That’s why, though simple, people get away with talking about drape, and texture, and silhouette with Yohji because they fundamentally are speaking to the fact that the clothes’ interaction with the body is unlike most designers. So the reason for the buying the full runway looks can be seen as the actual messaging. You do have to wear an individual set up to understand fully what is being conveyed, wearing look 6 pants with look 16 blazer and look 12 shirt will not give the intended feeling of look 6, look 6, look 6. A good, hyper specific example that illustrates this point is the t shirts worn over the down jackets in FW15. The “help me I’m hot” logos paired with the constricting t shirt over a scarfed down jacket is made to mirror the feeing of suffocation due to global warming. It’s the manifestation of the anxiety that Yohji is feeling, but to understand fully you must be suffering like that poor runway model.
I hope that doesn’t read as snobbish or that I think Yohji could be gate keeping, but after years wearing the brand and learning and making mistakes and with good mentorship (RIP to the YY king), I have learned that to understand a complete look you do need to wear it. So yes, a lot of it won’t be understood outside of a conceptual analysis or hypothetical, unless you are wearing the garments, in my humble opinion. (If you wear it once you can understand the idea for other looks, but think about dresses: the tug of an overly large, metal wired skirt on the ONE shoulder strap, vs a kimono wrapping dress that cocoons the body. To talk about either of these as “Yohji protects the womanly form against the eyes of society” would seem ridiculous, you must wear both to talk about the stiffness and warmth of the cocoon, or the laborious nature of beauty and elegance of the architectural dress)
I hope that can be helpful or at least sparks discussion!
underrated comment
Your comment is extremely valuable! I’m very fond of the Idea of ‘uniform’ garment, because when you find your own piece you feel as relaxed as you’re unlikely to have ever been before (in terms of clothes).
The garments look like he's trying to organise chaos
I think yohji Yamamoto is more about textile design and siluete experimentation, how clothing affects the body and our movement trough space. Wearing clothing means intersecting whit fabric and materials in a tridimentional way... Also very humble perspective about life.
Your analysis, (or maybe lack thereof?) reminds me of the riddle “Why is the raven like a writing desk”. Everyone wanted to find the answer, but really there’s no answer. There could be an answer, or not. But we talk about it anyway. Love this vid…
Nice video! just saw an article about the movie "spirited away." Scenes in that movie were also made with the 'ma' technique. AND IT MAKE SO MUCH SENSE NOW. Honestly I don't really understood the story of that movie, however I still think its a great movie. (it gaves me feelings I can't really explain) Exactly like Yamamoto's work. Its just the mysterious vibe and the."I don't know were this is all about that, but I'll find out"; that makes it interesting.
I actually watched that video to prep for this video 😂 The Ghibli movies are such a constant in my life, they’re so calming. Miyazaki is a genius
I dropped my hot pocket clicking this video
This channel got me back into fashion 🙏🏾
Welcome home 😊
hey bliss! i was watching your video and couldn't help but think of something a friend had said to me. "A useful mantra to remember when getting dressed in the morning. Get it just right, and then add a little wrong. Perfection is not only a fool's errand, it's inhuman"
i could be wildly off, but i'm wondering if yohji is trying to share his interpretation, whether intentional or not, on humanness in what would otherwise be a "perfect" scenario in his collections. for instance in his 1999 runway show, the constant theme seemed to be a wedding or a formal gathering. yet in a lot of these looks there is something (minor or glaringly apparent) that throws a wrench into the picture. whether this be an asymmetric cut, flares at the sides of a jacket blazer and the ability to remove the lower part of a wedding gown to reveal a mini skirt they all seem to point to this idea of "well, this should be a perfect setting but its not and this is how it actually looks".
even in his 2019 collection he seems to play with this idea. unfinished stitching, coats at uneven lengths, and buttons that pretty much do nothing outside of aesthetic appeal. it feels like hes adding the distinct attributes of each character in the film that he made up in his head
Isn't "meaning" something we require rather than something the designer is required to give us? I think his indifference to our needs in that regard is what makes him so fascinating. Yohji is as much Soluble Fish by Breton as he is Ma.
I guess a big part of my question is how do I, as a critic, add value here? Yohji isn’t required to give me anything tbh 🤷 but it doesn’t really work for me to just say “oh wow, so mysterious and beautiful” when I’m reviewing his shows. Maybe there isn’t an answer here at all 🤔
@@BlissFoster - To me that you started the conversation has added value. We were waiting for a venue to have it and you've provided the agora for us to have it in. No small thing. Thanks.
There's a great doc made by Wim Wenders exploring Yamamoto's work called "Notebook on cities and clothes", in the movie the designer brings up a little of his personal background, speaking about the WWII and how it gets expression through his artwork... I think it helps a bit in the process of seeing and reflecting about his work.
In my opinion Yohji is trying to achieve the ultimate perfect collection. He keeps trying and pushing his own limits. But perfection does not exist. He will keeps trying over and over. It’s the same collection that’s evolving toward perfection
So watching the segment of just pictures of his work really got my brain thinking. I am a tattoo artist and I aspire to be a fashion designer some day. My designs have not made it past the point of being any more then pencil sketches. It almost feels like his work is limited to black because it is not about the color. Its about the design and shape. I think his shows are his simple black pencil sketches translated from paper to real life.
Imagining his shows being a sketchbook brought to life even makes me consider if there is more to the vision that he is choosing not to share. (Like my sketches that i have hopes to refine and color someday) Maybe he feels his work better shows the emotion and world he is trying to convey without color similarly to black and white photographs showing the essence of the moments they captured?
In a definition I looked up it described ma as the opposition of excess. It’s almost like he is using black to strike a balance between the excessively ornate nature of his designs by keeping it devoid of color. His works seem empty in a way. But in that emptiness is skillful design, intention, and organic movement. To me it seems he is more of a sculptor then clothing designer. Instead of his medium being something like dense marble or clay it is airy black fabrics that visually read more heavy then white stone ever could. Weightless but heavy.
really new to fashion and this kind of art, thanks for the great videos!!!
Hey.
I really appreciate your approach, your knowledge and your passion, always loved your videos.
But this and only this particular video proves me, that you are truly underrated. I would really like to to talk to you irl.
I asked a japanese Friend of mine to exolain the concept of Ma closer to me - maybe this additional information can helt us further out.
I was highly struck by your How question. I think this might be the crucial pount to not ask the what but rather other w-questions. Why is it almost always black. Which concept is behind the unsymetrical designs and so on.
I will definitely tune into this comments section again to continue our conclusion. And it would be wonderful if you could make a second video if all of this brought new perspectives into the Yoji topic.
Btw Bliss I would love to join your patreon but I'm a slightly broke student (in Swiss High Schoo /College) But I will try to support you by shating your videos - lots of love
Bada
My japanese Friend has send me a reply :)
So, she said that the character of Ma is always written in a combination with another character e.g. time, distance or space between two objects. This character alone, that you displays in this video is called aida.
But something else struck me. The things is that I am half korean, and I have learned some characters in the korean school I once attended to. This character of Ma which you showed is constructed out of two characters. 1. the the two big once that look like mirrored - it holds the meaning - Door and 2. the small one in between which holds the meaning - Day. I tought it might be interesting to point that out.
@@badakunzi1826 Door and Day?
Love your approach to this vid so much!!
LOVE your channel! im a music journalist w a background in contemporary art and to me his work is closer to say rothko or say experimental/improvised music - i feel that the key to reading it has more to do with the play on texture/silhouette and yes the vague poetic interpretation rather than finding other signifies. just feels more visceral than intellectual imo
Experimental player here. I think you’re right. His clothing reminds me of (good) drone music - it’s the subtle accidental overtones that makes his work. He just changes the key occasionally.
Me gusto mucho el contenido de este video ( como de casi todos) pero lo q mas me interesó es q intentas comprender el trabajo de Yohji desde conceptos propios de su cultura. Muchas veces leí interpretaciones acerca de su trabajo de Rei KAWAKUBO desde nociones muy occidentales y no creo q sus creaciones partan desde allí. Eso me sucede cuando leo que ellos trabajan dese la deconstruccion. Y pienso q ese concepto es propio de la filosofía occidental y francamente no observo eso en sus diseños. El concepto de ma es central en la cultura japonesa, yo lo había investigado un poco y en español hay un término que es “intersticio” q significa el espacio entre una cosa y otra ( como muy bien explicaste vos) felicidades x el canal, perdón q escribo en español pero si lo hago en inglés sería un desastre y prometo seguirte en Patreon😘😉
One thing is clear as I'm experiencing the slide show, I need more Yohji Yamamoto in my life because I want to get lost in his Ma world. He is epic. Basic words I know lol thank youuuu, checking out the patreon. 🤜🏼🖤🤛🏼
How does Yohji make meaning in his art? After you explained ma(sp?) as the “space” at the end after children bow that shows respect for their elders. I thought more about how Yohji’s collections are extremely consistent/similar and how he really sticks to one color. I think he uses a more simplistic but extremely skilled approach to create ma between the wearer and the clothes and furthermore between the wearer of the clothes and others. The way the clothes drape the body are perfect perhaps creating a sense of ma.... I’m losing the thought a little but this is where I’ve arrived thus far 🤔 another great video Bliss!
What about Ann Demeulemeester?? They have similar aesthetics. She is also absolutely unique and talented.
Side note, your voice is very auditorily pleasing in terms of narration. It just fits.
Yo page is lit you should make an app bro where we pay 3$ a month and can have access to all of the content
Indeed, Yamamoto’s work intentionally defies intellectual analysis. But there are some things you can hang onto: the pieces consistently defy expectations about what clothes should be, there are a lot of gestural elements that are pure expression, there is constant experiment with manipulating fabric and creating volume. I’m not sure that Yamamoto wants anyone to do anything in respect to his clothes, but when I look at them, I always wonder what the world would be like in which they would make sense. That’s the women’s clothes. The men’s clothes I just want to wear.
Hi! I LOVE the subject of quantum field theory, chaos theory, space, time... So much that I wrote some scholarly articles on database development & analysis regarding quantum physics in a fractional-dimensional system. Ma is comparable to a "good ghost" in quantum physics. A "good ghost" is not a physical state or being. It is the space between objects that connects & creates unity. Like yin-yang. I also happened to have lived in Japan during the early 2000's with hands on experience & knowledge in Japanese culture & the arts. In what appears to be chaotic or undefinable, is a series of loops, patterns, and self-organization. My takeaway: Yohji Yamamoto presents the space that is fluid and free from constraint, hierarchy, and convention. It's a science.
間 would be a harmony to make everything work flawlessly
I feel like so much of his work as these gaps or amorphousness or "negative space" that somehow feels like a continuation of the clothes as well as an emptiness. From my extensive understanding of the concept of Ma from hearing about in this video for the first time, this seams like an example of how it may or may not apply to his work.
Excellent & interesting interpretation of YY
Super good analysis. As a Japanese fashion lover, you've got a very good point. however, I remember that he said that he doesn't give a shit to "Japanese Culture," so there's no intension, but just spirits about beauty of Japan is there as a result.
MA, is something he creates, phisically, and philosophilly. it's something invisible.
And I think his creation is about emotion ; "what can we make from our hands?"
I think he is inspired by nature, inner balance, happiness, grieve, love, laughter, beeing human…what else do you need to make perfect clothes?
I think of Yohji's work of being more emotional than intellectual and more bodily than heady. his clothes and techniques feel very visceral to me. extremely fine-tuned and probably painstaking from a technical standpoint but lavish and impetuous from an aesthetic standpoint. they make me feel things rather than think about things. I might argue this is where the 'meaning' comes from, from this emotional response to the way he explores and pushes the boundaries of draping & construction season after season, all the while standing firmly within his own established aesthetic codes.
Great thoughts 🦾 thank you so much for sharing with us, Jack 💫💫
Along with this more emotional attitude is a practical one of clothes being the armor one wears to get through the world/society. he's said "It is more about helping women to suffer less, to attain more freedom and independence." and "My role in all of this is very simple. I make clothing like armor. My clothing protects you from unwelcome eyes."
I have read an interview of him by Rick Owens ( System Magazine) and I thought his story was quite a ride. However this video truly added great input about his works! 🖤🖤🖤
Ma appears the be the relation between the filled and unfilled.
Ma can affect the cadence in which you speak. (The amount of pauses in between sounds)
Ma can affect melody (the relation between silence and noice)
Ma can affect vision. (Space and obstruction)
I think Yohji’s designs serve as obstructions to one’s view. Similar to a Japanese garden.
Japanese gardens are great demonstrations of ‘Ma’. In English we’ll say they’re very sparse; but that describes ‘Ma’. The gravel is here, there’s a rock there, and a tree over there. The relationship between them is what I’ve learned to be ‘Ma’.
If we look at a runway, his dresses are the objects that create ‘Ma’. They have many cuts and asymmetrical layers similar to trees and rocks. I hope this makes sense lol
The best part of this is when you stop talking so the viewer could see these clothes and imagine them wrapped around her or his body. A glorious sensation. Time more than space.
One possible anchor for YY's work is the photography of August Sander, in particular the Young Farmers photograph. A few commentaries on his work have considered Sander as a reference. It is very much about contemplation, as a subject of the work, and also a purpose of the work - it captivates. The countenance and deportment of the figures, the invisible photographer, the fact that they have apparently walked past each other and look back. Photographer, subject and viewer (us)... who is looking, who is looked at? There is the obvious theme of position in society, class and function, and requisite dress... the fact that the farmers are dressed up beyond what they normally wear, and dont have the sartorial finesse to pull of a look of class. Instead the clothing is a bit borrowed, shared and handed-down.
love this!
Yohji is effortless coolness, formal but informal and I think yohji references yohji it's a constant development of his own idea. That's why I like Yohjis work
Once I saw the kanji for Ma(間) I remembered that another reading for it is “Aida” which can be used to mean the space between two literal or conceptual objects. For example: 「この間元気だったの」( kono aida genki datta no) (how have you been since I last saw you). The 間(ma/aida) is the time between meetings. But we don’t translate it word for word in English. Looking at mr. Yamamoto’s work I see that they have a modern feel but also a sense the elegance of past times. Simple in silhouette, but very detailed. I see many small contrasting aspects of his art, and maybe the ma of it is the space between those aspects and where they meet in his art? Or I could be thinking in the wrong direction entirely haha
Came for the commentary, stayed for these radically insightful comments
I love Yohji Yamamoto. I think his work is very gothic and futuristic at the same time with architectural elements.
Totally Amazing...!!!
Why do you think that other designers explaining their intent is a good thing ? For me Raf or Undercover with their detailed descriptions or references just downgrades their meaning. It is like explaining the joke. If you need to explain your joke that it means that it failed. All the _great_ transcending art comes without explanation. Just the art and the name of the piece. If viewer looks at art ,reads its name and "feels" or "gets" it the way artist intended than it works. If not, then well artist failed or missed his audience. Imagine if after every movie there would be a short video where director explained why he made this and that choises. What references meant etc etc... It is silly. Why everyone decided that it must be this way in fashion is beyond my understanding. I have collected a lot of yohji stuff and what I found in my reaction is that this "inability to decode his intent" is actually what makes his clothes closer to people. There is an interesting and strange feeling from his clothes-like it is your present from your other self from another time/age. It feels like it is yours maybe because there is a lot of space for your own meaning in it. Btw. I may be wrong, but think that McQueen worked in the same technique for presentation. And it is funny that in one recent interview Yohji was asked whom he considered his "soulmate" designer and he named only Lee.
Every approach is different. No one is perfect. Even a movie that’s told directly about what it means could relate to people a lot more. It’s a numbers game. Also, some people are better feeling comfort from a distance. It’s a way you approach things. While everything is at our disposal we won’t know what it means until someone else explains it. Hence images and detailed descriptions. What if YY doesn’t even have any meaning. You don’t know that. He hasn’t told you. Or has he. His approach to not being direct may just well be allowing others to make it up on their own. But even then, there’d have to be some kind of story. His story may come in 50 years from now. You never know. I don’t know.
Who is Lee?
@@chrislg4519 McQueen
i don’t think Ma is the literal space between the bottom of a top and the beginning of a pair of pants. It’s not the space left by a rip or hole. you need to examine the look as a whole and what it is doing the space around it. i think we’re so used to seeing a dress and jewelry when we’re looking at a look from a collection but if u want to understand some japanese designer, you need to look at the space, the space being affected and changed by the dress and jewelry; they work together and are one singular, interconnected working. i don’t think u can analyze yohji’s collections. at least not in the sense of “this references this” and “the materials used symbolize this” but ik that u know that already. ig what im trying to say is that yohjis work isnt meant to be seen that way. i think his goal is literally just to explore the craftsmanship of fashion and it’s relationship w the body, and that relationship is formed through the cuts, silhouette, etc. i think it’s a concept americans like us have trouble understanding like “no way there has to be something deeper” but that’s where we fail to understand that what yohji is doing is deep. our understanding of the intellectual and innovation is different. i think it really just is, like u said in ur video what we always hear, “the cuts are incredible” and that’s ok. our understanding of a “cut” and what it means is different for someone like yohji who grew up in a completely different culture and philosophies regarding aesthetics, art, industry, practicality, life etc. i do want to be clear and say obv i could be wrong. that’s just how i see it. really loved the video tho
I won't even attempt at making a statement about his work. He is really the only person who can tell you anything and this is intentional. Watch the BoF talk with him: Inside Yohji Yamamoto's Fashion philosophy. He talks about his childhood and design school period which tells us the foundation of his thinking and how it is applied to his designs. Regards Marissa
Some thoughts.
I don’t think his work or shows are analogous to literature as it may be w other designers . His interest I think is exploring the relationship between the textiles the form of his cuts and how those interact w the body . Perhaps the Ma is the space between the garment and the body and how they intersect.
If there’s analogy for me that works it would be to drone music - a seemingly single note / tone that’s enhanced by subtle overtones and accident. There’s another analogy but it’s personal and I’m currently working on a piece that explores it which I will share w. you when I am done.
I’m reading a monograph of a London show of his work and from what I’ve read he isn’t deeply involved in the shows, he just shows up and tweaks everything and just sits in the background watching for the most part (if you want I can send you a scan of the text.
Absolutely, let’s talk. Send me a dm on Instagram please 😊 I’d love to read it
@@BlissFoster hi, just sent to you.
I think to look at Yohji you have to look at Rei, They are both different but both take one similar ideas within their work. Rejection of hyper femininity in the western idea of dress which conforms to a mechnical framework of what makes up clothing-tied to gender/history. Their approach to space on in relationship to the body can be seen throughout many cultures in the east. For many designers even in school we are exploring ideas in a not so detailed way. Often many ideas come from a back and forth process of doing and thinking. It can be very subconscious where you are in a state of flow. I think the Met exhibition on Time is a great example of exploring the world of Yohji and many designer like him that don't necessarily follow a linear sense of space and time.
I don't have a lens to deconstruct his work, but I will say I'm seeing an unholy cross of Charles Dickins' Great Expectations and the Phantom of the Opera. With a sprinkling of industrial punk.
To me everything sort of wraps around the model. Hear me out, the clothes all look like they actively move to grab the person in a gentle yet certain way. The normal movement other garments have that, for example accentuate waist or exaggerate shoulders or draw you at the center of the chest, with these ones it’s completely different. They look like they move against the person not with the person. Not in an aggressive way but yet they do. I found that common into every piece. Taking in consideration that everything is black and with different opacities and textures I feel like his big reference is the darkness, the lack of light. I’m not trying to oversimplify a brilliant designer, and what darkness means to everyone is completely different so you would have to probably stand in a corner whilst he is into therapy to get 100% why he references shadow and darkness and the nightfall but I believe that’s what he is doing. His work seems organic like IVH, but in an extended definition of what’s natural in an almost metaphysical way. And I also can detect two characters presented to me by him. A person that’s consumed by darkness in his softer silhouettes and a person that’s an agent of darkness in his tailoring. The energy seems to coming off of the one character and consumes the other. But hey ho that’s me! 🙋🏼😊
you should also look into "wabi sabi"", looking into imperfections as perfections.
There’s a concept in Buddhism and Taoism called « nondualism/nondual awareness » wherein there is a non-defined interconnectivity with everything that is only defined by the existence of a singular reality. So one cannot make definitions of experience based on a duality of subject/object for example, because in a singular reality that relationship is untethered but also infinitely connected.
I digress, but where I think Yamamoto uses this concept is a type of nondualism called monism which negates our pluralistic experience of individual “things” - monism suggests they are a woven thread in a greater singular reality. He does this in ways which take semiotics of clothing (so symbols/signs we interpret) out of their expected context to suggest there isn’t a particular specific use of say a collar or a sleeve rather they can be taken out of their contexts of form and utility and put in a garment wherever because all components of garments can be viably intermixed or negated under a monistic nondualism. Wordy I know, but I’ve always felt a really transcendent quality to his clothes which aren’t bound to time, gender, seasonality, traditional clothing forms, etc so that they exist in a continuum of experience that is neither fully his own our ours. I think you really were on to something when you said that pieces from his shows could be mixed between seasons without denying its his work…or our experience of his body of work.
So even though we can break components down into pluralisms there is only one monism of Yohji Yamamoto.
Even the concept of Ma fits into this where there is a consciousness of space not as definitions positive/négative but space as a semiotic experience of his clothing. In his work he may use the same cut of a dress but move the hem placement or use a different textile say a chiffon instead of a twill to draw attention to the how we may experience the Ma of not only of a garments cut but how a garment flows through the experiential contexts of his work.
Literally just wrote an essay here but I love his work so it just kind of flows.
I love Yohji's clothes...why you say? He enormous craftsmanship, esthetic beauty, deconstructed and modern. Hei's clothes will outlive me! I can wear vintage and current styles and they all work together. Meaning, irregular imperfections + craftmanship
This was such an awesome non-Bliss Bliss video
The raw, minimalism in his materials and construction remind me of abstract expressionism, and we know there was a nice symbiosis between abstract expressionism and the philosophical interrogation of meaning by existentialists. Maybe that's the struggle.
The thing is not what it means. The “meaning” is created through the visceral experience of the thing. If you could say what it means, why even make the thing?
How does it feel when you look at it? How does it feel when you wear it?
^^^^
That’s what it means.
I come from a music background, but my thoughts about criticism in general tend to be more negative.
When you approach a work of art you bring with you all of your life experience. When you look at a painting you are seeing it through the lens of not only every painting that you’ve ever looked at in your life, but everything that you’ve seen or experienced. What then takes place is that you have some response to the work. Love, Hate, or Indifference. And that is okay. Not everything is for everyone. And I’m not even sure that there is inherent value in exploring that response more deeply. Things can be understood on an intuitive level rather than in a rational way. Sometimes I feel like intuitively is the only way to experience art.
There is a tendency for critics to go through the cycle of the experience of art and then journalistically recount how they feel and assign a value to the work in question. What they don’t appreciate is that everyone’s experience is different, whether slightly or wildly. Criticism can turn off people who would love a work. Or make people feel that there is something wrong with them for not loving a work that all the critics love. But It’s okay!! The thing about critics is they all come from the perspective of being critics.
The real value of criticism I feel, written criticism especially. Is as a vehicle for great writing. And the artistic work in question only acts as the subject. So the criticism itself becomes a work of art. It doesn’t happen much but it happens sometimes.
Anyways, great video!
I saw a comment about Yamamoto's age and that he was a child in WWII and it piqued my interest because two other men who i really look up to and often return to their works when I am feeling bad or wondering about creating meaning, Daisaku Ikeda and Hayao Miyazaki, are the same. I'm writing a thesis on Ikeda and Miyazaki now, but how intriguing that they all fit into this group together and have become brilliant creators with world renown. I wonder if Yamamoto's thoughts and expressions are similar to the ideas Ikeda and Miyazaki have expressed. I don't know enough about Yamamoto or his work to say anything concretely.
YOU WORE MY SHIRT !! It looks so good on you!
You crushed it!! Everybody go follow @malakoiclothing on IG and cop a shirt 💫💫
(first, I'm 16 y/o which interest in fashion it's very recent. I get if you think my point is vague and absurd)
Taking the concept of "ma" of this video, i confirm the point that yohji´s work is absolutely conceptual, emotional.
Let's interpret the "ma" as it is. we can call it void if we want to. THAT'S what i mean n feel about yohji's runway shows. He takes ma, not as a gap, or the folds of a dress, not as structure, but as it is. a visual interpretation of it. It is anti-antietheral unlike common fashion; he is the b side of it. If we can take etherealism as the plenty of light and space, yohji just had gone through it, but stills the same; same space, head and feel. We can notice a waterfall of feels and intentions in his work and in every design; mostly, void, anger and destruction represented through those disarmed and abstract figures, but always with two other things always present: a feelable spark of lightness and peace onto it, which makes it so balanced and enchanting to everyone.
The fit is giving me strong early 10's vibes
I bet the front of that cap says OBEY with mickey mouse gloves rolling a joint
Strong 'swagapino' energy
Swag me out
😑
🤙👊
If I'm not mistaken the Japanese letter ma is a letter commonly used in east Asia derived from Chinese characteristics. And the letter in its own visual sense is supposed to represent sunlight coming through the space between a pair of doors. The point isn't the doors nor the sunlight but the existence of the in-between allowing the sunlight to come in.
So in that particular sense I think..we can never fully pin down Yohjis work on a singular interpretation. We're not supposed to since his work is the in-between. Its the space that allows the outside to come through. And whatever fills the void becomes the void itself as we never notice the space between the doors but we do notice the sun coming through it.
maybe that's why so many people are drawn to yohji . his work is simply a medium to let us see things that we feel are relatable in his clothes. Which would explain why people call him the poet in black. Whether he intended or not his clothes end up being emotional to people.
The emotions are brought on by the aesthetic - all the clips shown here echo Edwardian womenswear, the ensemble with the picture hat the thumbnail especially. There's a certain malaise about Edwardian mourning clothes that Yamamoto seems to have captured, and reinterpreted for the modern. I don't know enough about him to read into that, but that's what sprang immediately to my mind, the ma, if you will, of mourning
Ma is what Rei is all about. The greater importance of the negative space. Beautiful.
Dell!! Much love from the other side of the world, my friend 🙃 I know I’m going to have a BIG job of trying to tackle Rei’s work on Ma. I hope you’re staying well during this weird time.
@@BlissFoster weird is an understatement. Days I am so lost I see no future but on we go. Love to you . I love your mind your interpretation of art (fashion) is inspiring. Keep going.💓💓💓💓
Yohji one of the Greatness, Thank you Bliss